Ford Motor Co. is pointed in the right direction again – a profitable one.

Ford reported its first profitable year since 2005 with $2.7 billion net income, or 86 cents per share, in 2009, according to the company’s year-end financial statement released today. (see the release)

And, it expects to be profitable on a pre-tax basis again in fiscal 2010, when it had previously expected profits not to return until 2011.

The $2.7 billion net income was boosted by $2.6 billion in special items, but still, the result was better than the 31-cent-per-share loss that analysts had forecast for Ford, according to CNNMoney.com. It was also a major improvement over the net loss of $14.7 billion that Ford recorded in 2008.

“While we still face significant business environment challenges ahead, 2009 was a pivotal year for Ford and the strongest proof yet that our One Ford plan is working and that we are forging a path toward profitable growth by working together as one team, leveraging our global scale,” Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said in a press release.

The progress also helped Ford improve its market share for the first time since 1995. Its share rose to 16.1 percent from 15 percent in 2008, CNNMoney.com reported. But despite the improved market share, Ford’s global sales fell 11 percent to 4.8 million vehicles, and its overall revenues dropped 14 percent to $118.3 billion.

In 2009 Ford made $5.1 billion in automotive structural cost reductions, surpassing its target of $4 billion.

The company’s 43,000 U.S. hourly employees will be paid approximately $450 per eligible employee as part of Ford’s profit-sharing program, and the company also announced that U.S. salaried employees will receive merit increases in 2010, although they won’t receive performance bonuses. The company also reinstated its 401(k) matching program.